Beth
Miller, esteemed News Journal reporter and DPA’s immediate past
president, is well known and highly respected by every newsmaker and news
follower in Delaware. For outstanding professional accomplishments and also
for service to the community and to DPA, Beth recently was named the 2011
Delaware Press Association Communicator of Achievement.

A graduate of Mount Pleasant High School and Wheaton
College, where she earned a degree in political science, Beth immediately
joined the staff of TheNews Journal, where she continues
today. She is now, thirty years later, a veteran journalist writing breaking
news, features and enterprise stories conscientiously and with a singular
regard for the truth.

A general-assignment reporter who began an illustrious
career covering sports, then education, Beth has been recognized in recent
years for insightful coverage of politics, religion and matters of
international interest. She introduced us to fascinating Delawareans in the
“Delaware Journal” column she wrote from 1999 to 2003. When the war in
Afghanistan began, she went there and wrote about the danger and sacrifices
our service people confront. And after the devastating earthquake in Haiti
last year, she went along on a relief trip and reported on the heroics and
compassion of the members of the medical team from Delaware as well as on
the aftermath of the disaster.

Almost as well known for her sense of humor as for thorough,
balanced reporting and the ability to capture the human side of a story, she
sometimes sheds light on how she acquired her journalistic sensibilities by
telling hilarious stories on herself. When she was presented with the COA Award – the
highest honor DPA bestows on its members – she said:

“As you might expect, I’ve been wondering if this is some
sort of mistake. I’m sure someone on your committee did their homework – at
least a Google search of “Beth Miller” and “News Journal” – and found
that insightful question from a blogger a few years ago: ‘Is the News
Journal’sBeth Miller really this dumb?’

“I love free speech!

“I learned pretty early in my career that what is really
dumb for a reporter, for a journalist, is to assume or pretend that you know
more than you do and skip over a question.

“Of
course, I learned this the hard way. One day, when I was a new hire in the
sports department, I had to write a story about a senior citizens’ softball
team. It was sponsored by a funeral home.

I talked to several members of the team – about its history
and its purpose and camaraderie. And I heard about one of the founders, who
had played shortstop.

“‘He’s no longer with us,’ the man I was interviewing told
me. And I wrote about the late shortstop and his influence on the team.

“The next morning, the man’s wife called our public editor,
Harry Themal, to let him know that the ‘late’ shortstop was sitting across
the table having breakfast with her. He was no longer with the team, true.
But he was alive and well and in her house.

“I got an earful from Harry about that. And I learned an
important lesson about follow-up questions: Ask them. Just as important:
make your questions good ones.

“And listen. Listen. Listen. It’s one of the most important
elements of communication.”

Ask
and listen. And then write. It may sound simple, but it’s not an easy thing
to do. One of our DPA colleagues said: “Beth demonstrates in both her
reporting and her writing the kind of compassion and sensitivity that were
once highly admired in general-interest media . . . and are still highly
appreciated both by news sources and news subjects.” Another DPA member
summed up Beth’s fortitude: “In this year of unrelenting demand on the press
to cover such a wide and complex range of issues, she has shown a remarkable
ability to pull it off – time after time – with intelligence and gentle
context.” Several examples come to mind, and Beth’s own words best convey
the struggle a reporter experiences when asking the hard questions,
listening to often-uncomfortable answers or witnessing another’s distress.

“When someone trusts you with their story,” Beth says, “it
is a gift. You’ve got to be there. You need to be there – in person.

“In 2002, the newspaper sent me to Afghanistan a couple of
times to visit Delaware troops deployed there. I remember talking with a
tech sergeant from Dover Air Base. He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out
of his pocket. It was written in pencil, and the tough old sergeant carried
it everywhere. It was obvious he had read it many times. It was from his
son, and his eyes welled up as he read it to me. His boy got right to the
point.

I’m not worried if you die because I know you are up in
heaven with God watching over me. But I will be very sad and I will miss
you. I will remember you. . . . Dad I’m counting on you to come back.
Your son, Devin Walter James. P.S. The Lord is with you always don’t
forget that OK!

“It’s hard to do such moments justice. They speak of love
and life and risk and struggle.

“Some encounters stick with you forever,” Beth adds, “like
the 60-year-old man who had been abused by a priest hundreds of times when
he was a kid. He was one of the first Delaware victims willing to tell his
story. I called him in Las Vegas, where he had moved, and he agreed to talk
with me if I could get there. We talked for eight hours. His wife stayed
with us as he spoke and wept and shook and trembled. He took breaks to get
his breath and clear his head. I thought it was too much. But he kept coming
back. He wanted to tell his story. Thank God.

“That story required weeks of research and scores of other
interviews. It required courage and grit on behalf of the editors at The
News Journal. It was painful for everyone.

“But he told his story. It checked out. And after it was
printed, others came forward. Maybe they, too, would be believed.”

That story, with far-reaching consequences, continues to
reverberate. And who wasn’t touched by the series of powerful articles Beth wrote
in 2010 when she witnessed first-hand the devastation in Haiti.

“Last January,” Beth says, “as the world watched a tragedy
unfold in Haiti, News Journal editors decided we should go with a hastily
assembled team of Delaware doctors and nurses as they rushed to help the
injured. That decision was risky – and I have great respect for Executive
Editor David Ledford, who pushed for it and made it happen.

“The need still is crushing. And I cannot turn away from it.
I can hear the screams of a young girl, lying on a cot under a white tent at
the shattered hospital in Jacmel. I will never forget her wails as her
father held her, and a Delaware doctor cleaned her legs, which had been
crushed in falling debris during the January 12 earthquake. Her toes were
black with gangrene. The doctor was trying to save her legs, but it was an
agonizing effort.

“Her father’s pain must have been as great. And while the
girl wailed, a group of Haitians from a nearby church walked through the
tents singing and praying for the patients. Their voices swirled in the air
with her cries, and the sounds – of agony and hope – made an amazing mix. It
was an astounding scene.”

The Communicator of Achievement Award recognizes not only
professional accomplishments and service to DPA, but also service to the
community. Beth plays the bagpipes as a member of the Pipes & Drums of the
Delaware Valley and has, on a number of occasions, played for the deployment
and return ceremonies of Delaware National Guard troops.

She also enjoys travel, but especially travel with a
mission. She has gone with her church to New Orleans to work on homes in the
wake of Hurricane Katrina and to Lima, Peru, to assist in medical clinics
and with English classes.

These
good works inform Beth’s life just as her skillful reporting does.

“It’s my belief,” she says, “that we need each other’s
stories – that we learn about ourselves and our world and our place in the
world as we talk and listen and learn about each other. It’s my belief that
there’s usually a pretty amazing story – maybe good, maybe bad, maybe ugly –
wrapped up in every human being.

“To the citizens of Delaware, I can only say thank you for
reading. Thank you for caring about journalism and about our community.
Thank you for listening.

“And to those who are professional communicators: Keep up
your good work. Many of you are storytellers. Some of you are like
matchmakers – helping storytellers connect with stories that need to be
told. Fight for open government. Ask questions. Listen carefully. Take good
notes. Let your heart beat.

That was the reaction, in summary, from several people I
know outside of Delaware when the New Year began with a murder-mystery
worthy of a spy novel or a prime-time TV show.

And no wonder. Not long after the dust had settled from the
election that brought national media to the First State for nearly two
months, Delaware generated a story worthy of further national interest and
intrigue. The morning of New Year’s Eve, the body of a 66-year-old man was
discovered at Wilmington’s Cherry Island landfill. The victim turned out to
have been John Wheeler III, who was instrumental in raising funds for the
Vietnam War Memorial, held a leadership role with Mothers Against Drunk
Driving and, most recently, was a consultant for a Defense Department
contractor.

I should have seen what was coming when I was informed that
“the blogs are going nuts over this.”

You know the strange circumstances of the case: a
surveillance video captured Wheeler in a disoriented state, holding one of
his shoes, at the wrong parking garage in Wilmington; there are questions
about whether he was on a train he was scheduled to be on; he asked his
neighborhood pharmacist for a ride from New Castle to Wilmington; and, he
died and ended up in a dumpster in Newark.

The case was rife with local intrigue and mystery, but it
quickly went global. Theories abounded about the possible reason for, and
cause of, his death; and the way some of them were picked up by the media is
cause for concern.

One theory in particular went viral – the idea that Wheeler
intended to address concerns about the danger of a biological agent . . .
which just so happened to be the cause of a massive bird kill in Arkansas
that same week. You might be familiar with that scenario, since it was the
subject of speculation by many traditional media outlets.

The 2009 DPA Communicator of Achievement, UD Professor Ralph
Begleiter, said it well in The News Journal: “This is a good example
of when anybody can say anything without any accountability, and there are
no consequences.” Quoted in TNJ again a few days later, he added that
lack of information “adds to the mystery. Anytime you have a vacuum of any
kind, there’s somebody who will fill that vacuum in a news environment,
whether it’s a political story or a criminal case. Somebody is going to come
along and speculate.”

A different sort of lesson occurred days later, when several
news outlets reported that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had died of
gunshot wounds to the head during the mass shootings in Tucson, Arizona. Six
people did, in fact, die, but the Congresswoman survived and is on a long
road to recovery. NPR was first with the erroneous report, followed by CNN
and Fox. All, of course, made retractions.

Do you see the common ground between these two incidents?
One was a developing murder-mystery with clues like so many jigsaw-puzzle
pieces not yet put together. The other was a fast-developing story full of
breaking news updates, initial confusion and conflicting details.

Are news media outlets moving closer to a business-as-usual
policy of “Let’s put the information out there, then retract it if it’s
wrong”?

That would not be a welcome development.

Mark Fowser, President of Delaware Press Association, is (depending on
the day of the week) a reporter for WHYY-90.9 FM and its Web site,
newsworks.org; a contributor to Delaware First Media (delawarefirst.org);
and a radio traffic-and-news reporter in Philadelphia. Contact Mark at
302-322-7873 or mafowser@hotmail.com.

After
the cold, cold days of the last several weeks, it lifts the spirits to think
about celebrating Sunshine Week: March 13 – 19 this year. But Sunshine Week
isn’t about going somewhere to get warm or about taking a vacation from
responsibility. Rather, it’s just the opposite. The weeklong celebration
seeks to enlighten and empower people to play an active role in their
government at all levels and to give them access to information that makes
their lives better and their communities stronger.

So with Sunshine Week in our sights, what can we do to
ensure a celebration of open government here in Delaware?

A great start was made on Tuesday, January 25, when House
Bill 5 was passed unanimously in the Delaware House of Representatives.
Sponsored by Rep. Brad Bennett (D-Dover South), this bill would amend Title
29 of the Delaware Code pertaining to the Delaware Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) by setting a deadline when public bodies must provide a public
record to those who make a FOIA request.

Rep. Bennett sponsored the bill because he believes “public
information should be readily accessible to any citizen, and any person who
makes a FOIA request for public records deserves a prompt response.” Current
Delaware law does not include any time limit for government entities or
other public bodies either to respond to or to fulfill a Freedom of
Information request.

Rep. Bennett says, “This bill further improves the FOIA
legislation passed last session. It makes us a more transparent and open
state. By adding these provisions, we will go from being one of the least
transparent states to one of the more transparent."

Under House Bill 5, any FOIA request for a public record
must be granted within 15 business days from the receipt of the request.
However, the public entity can extend that deadline if the request is for
"voluminous records, if it requires legal advice" or if the record is in
storage. In those situations, within 15 business days of initial receipt of
a FOIA request, the agency or entity must inform the person making the
request of the need for additional time.

After hearing some concerns raised about similar legislation
that passed the House last session, Rep. Bennett said he addressed those
concerns by extending the deadline for receipt of a request from the 10
business days specified in a previous measure to 15 business days in HB 5.

This was a busy work year for me and my public relations
company: lots of clients, lots of work produced – resulting in many projects
to consider as entries in the DPA communications contest. However, I am
restricted from submitting nearly ninety percent of my eligible work because
of non-disclosure agreements with clients.

As a communications specialist and accredited public
relations counselor, I provide a range of services from publicity and
marketing communications to guidance in reputation management and other
complex issues. Often, when I am called in by a company for advice regarding
sensitive situations, as a requirement of engagement, I must agree to keep
the conversations and relationships confidential. More often than not, I am
required to sign a legal document called a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Use of NDAs is a common practice in business consulting.
Legal contracts between at least two parties, they outline confidential
material, knowledge or information that the parties wish to share with one
another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to by third
parties – such as competitors or the public. An NDA protects non-public
business information. And depending on the specific restrictive clauses in
an NDA, the agreement can even prohibit the service provider from
identifying the client. For instance, with most of my NDAs, I am not
permitted to say that I consult for the client company or say what I do for
them. In practical terms, I must not list the client name on my Galanaugh &
Company marketing materials, provide the client name as a reference or enter
projects in contests without special legal clearance.

The subtext, of course, is that the client could sue if the
terms of the NDA are breached. And if a consultant refuses to sign an NDA,
she risks not being hired and risks developing a reputation in the industry
for not operating within common business practices.

I have NDAs with companies in healthcare, energy generation,
manufacturing and technology. I’ve even had NDAs with celebrities. The
non-disclosure agreements I’ve signed with them do not offer protections
under the law like attorney-client or doctor-patient privilege – which
restrict certain communications from being subject to discovery in a legal
proceeding. Information shared with a PR consultant is discoverable in a
court of law even with a non-disclosure agreement in place.

One NDA blankets all of my communications work for
the client, including: media releases, public communications, letters,
marketing and public affairs plans and campaigns, videos, public and
intranet Web sites, scripts, external and internal newsletters,
advertisements, blogs, brochures and articles. Consequently, I cannot submit
work to the DPA communications contest because I may not claim any of the
mentioned tactical work projects as coming from my company.

I understand the value of the NDA. It allows the client to
discuss problems and challenges comfortably. And it allows me to have all
the facts before I provide counsel. This year alone, I advised companies
experiencing difficult business scenarios and community-relations pain. I’ve
consulted regarding a new product launch and have assisted in the creation
and execution of a PR plan to roll-out information about a business
acquisition.

I have a love-hate relationship with non-disclosure
agreements. Sometimes I want to shout to the world, “I helped that
company succeed!” And shouting wouldn’t hurt business development for my
company either. But the prudent behavior is to let the client claim victory.
After all, that’s why they pay me.

So, I conclude, silence is golden – especially when it helps
clients meet communications goals. When satisfied, they want to hire me
again. Silence also can keep me from being sued. And it can provide the
quiet necessary to hear pesky internal voices in ethical headlock over
vanity and self-satisfaction.

Karen Galanaugh, APR, was the national contest
director for NFPW’s annual communications contest from 2007 to 2010. The
2006 DPA Communicator of Achievement, she is the owner and principal of
Galanaugh & Company LLC, Public Relations & Marketing Communications, in
Wilmington. And – notwithstanding NDA restrictions on some of her work – she is also is the winner of many statewide, regional and national public
relations awards. Contact Karen at
kareng@galanaugh.com.

Tattling on itselfThe St. Louis Post-Dispatch is one of America’s most respected
newspapers. But like any other publication, it commits its share of
language errors. Frank Reust, who directs the news and features copy
editors at the paper, recently did some research into which words
and phrases were most often misused between 2000 and 2010. His
sleuthing produced the following items, which, unfortunately, appear
in far too many periodicals.

1. Amidst
Correct: amid.
(Along the same lines, we would add amongst and among.)

2. First ever/first annual
Correct: first.

3. Safe haven
Correct: haven.

4. Sneak peak
Correct: sneak peek. (It also could be argued that “sneak” should be
eliminated.)

5. Tensions
Correct: tension. This is an example of a false plural. The word is fine
without the letter s. Other examples from the Post-Dispatch Stylebook are
rain, wind, revenue, material, skill.

6. Begs the question
Correct: “Begs the question” does not mean to bring up or create a question.
The definition in Webster's New World College Dictionary is: “To use
an argument that assumes as proved the very thing one is trying to prove.”
So . . . bonus points to anyone who can use “begs the question” correctly in
a sentence.

7. Proven guilty/proven innocent
Correct: proved guilty or innocent. The verb is proved; the adjective is
proven, as in “a proven remedy.”

8. Healthful vs. healthy
Correct: Healthy is often misused. Healthy means having good health;
healthful means helping to produce, promote or maintain health. So a person
or animal can be healthy, have a healthy complexion, have a healthy
appetite. But a diet, food or choice is healthful because it promotes
health, not possesses it.

9. Left (number of people) dead
Correct: killed. Here's a common example: “Thailand's international
reputation, economy and sense of identity have been battered by street
fighting that has left 82 dead and nearly 1,800 wounded.” Better to say: . .
. “has killed 82 and wounded 1,800.” As someone once said, “Bad things don't
leave people dead; they kill people.”

Reust’s research also produced these one-time errors:

“St. Louis residents Adam Lefever, 28, and Leah Lucas,
28, said they are more vigilante about hiding valuables when they
visit parks in the city.”
Correct: vigilant.

He also told agents that he had experience in
ordinance disposal from the U.S. Army.”
Correct: ordnance.

There’s an app for thatYou probably weren’t surprised to learn that the American Dialect
Society chose “app” as its 2010 Word of the Year. According to an Associated
Press article, “Word of the Year,” linguists see it as a word that “best
sums up the country’s preoccupation last year.” Seemingly, there's an app
for just about everything: social networking, education, lifestyle, photos,
games and infinitely more.

And finally . . .Here’s a caption from a cartoon in The New Yorker of August
30, 2010: “You have no idea what it's like to be a 'just between you and me'
person in a ‘just between you and I’ world.”

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Delaware Press Association
delivers – and for just $20 a year. For that low membership fee, you have
access to all that DPA offers.

The DPA dues-renewal notice recently was e-mailed to all members who hadn’t
yet sent dues for 2011. Thanks to those who have responded to the request to
renew. Throughout the year, we will continue to add names of new and
renewing members to the DPA Membership Directory.

To make sure YOUR listing remains in the directory, though, please click one
of the links below to renew your membership if you haven’t yet done so! Only
members paid for 2011 can be included.

DPA is a state affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women. Dual
membership in DPA and NFPW is $94 ($74 for NFPW; $20 for DPA). If you want
dual membership in DPA and NFPW, use the last link below.

There are many DPA and NFPW benefits besides the membership directory,
including great professional-development opportunities through speakers,
workshops and conferences, networking with top communications professionals
in Delaware and across the USA, annual professional communications contests,
quarterly newsletters, e-blasts with news of communications events, job
opportunities and much more.
Get more information on these and other DPA and NFPW benefits.

Please renew your DPA or DPA/NFPW membership today. If you’re not a member,
why not join? All professional communicators are eligible for membership.
Here are links you can use right now, whether paying by check or by credit
card.

Be sure to contact me if you have questions about DPA, you’re not sure of
your membership status, you need username and password info to access the
directory or you want help with any other membership-related issue.

DPA
extends a warm welcome to each of our new members. Any new members whose
contact information has not been included in the online DPA Membership
Directory, please click here and ask for directions:
DelawarePress@aol.com.

•
Do you ever wonder what to do when your boss passes your ideas off as her
own? how to act when your husband consistently takes your mother-in-law’s
side over yours? or what to say when it’s time to have “that conversation”
with your child? Just ask Delaware’s own “Dear Abby.” You can get answers to
dilemmas such as these from “Aunt Steph,” or, as she’s known in professional
circles, Stephanie Baffone, LPCMH, NCC, a licensed, board-certified,
mental health therapist, freelance writer and beloved aunt to 40 nieces and
nephews. Don’t miss her advice column, “Ask Aunt Steph,” which debuted in
the Brandywine and Hockessin community newspapers in January.

In addition to helping others with the ups and downs of life
through her own private practice, she also is a consultant to numerous
non-profits developing programs on grief and is the expert columnist on love
and loss at Webby Award-nominated
SavvyAuntie.com. As
for herself, Stephanie says, “I have been blissfully married to my high
school sweetheart for twenty years.”

A graduate of Villanova University, with a master’s degree
in Community Counseling, Stephanie is a member of the American Counseling
Association, the National Board of Certified Counselors, the American
Psychological Association, RESOLVE, The American Fertility Association and
the American Academy of Bereavement.

• Ralph Begleiter has done it again with the 2011
edition of Global
Agenda, the premier speaker series he has coordinated at the University
of Delaware for ten years. Thanks to this year’s series of lectures, with
the overarching theme “Mirror, Mirror: Perceptions of America Abroad,”
Delaware citizens will have a great opportunity to see the United States
through the eyes of people from foreign nations or with global perspectives.
Beginning on February 23, the series includes visits to UD by Robert B.
Zoellick. president of the World Bank, former foreign ministers of Jordan
and Nigeria, the president of the Pew Research Center in Washington, a
senior official of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the editor of
The Globalist.

Ralph also uses the series as one of his courses for
undergraduate students in which they meet informally with each of the
series' speakers to discuss foreign-affairs issues.

The series, open to all students and to the community, takes
place at Mitchell Hall on Wednesdays. It is free and no tickets or
reservations are required. See the
Calendar of Events for information about each of the lectures, and be
sure to check for updates, speaker bios, details of speaker appearances and
parking info at the
Global Agenda
Web site.

Ralph Begleiter, Rosenberg Professor of Communication,
is director of UD’s Center for Political Communication. Contact Ralph at
Ralph.Begleiter@udel.edu.

• Andrea Boyle, senior editorial coordinator for
national media in the University of Delaware’s Office of Communications and
Marketing, recently was honored at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C., for being named to the PR News* “15-to-Watch” list. A UD alum,
Andrea was named alongside communications and marketing professionals from
Turner Broadcasting, Kaiser Permanente, Cox Enterprises, the National
Basketball Association, Office Depot and Southwest Airlines, among others.

UD’s vice president for communications and marketing and
DPA’s treasurer, David Brond, said: “This is a very special honor for
Andrea, for the University of Delaware, and for the Office of Communications
and Marketing. This national honor is recognition of a great deal of hard
work on a wide range of projects.” According to David, some of the projects
for which Andrea was nominated include redesign of the
Experts at the
University of Delaware Web site, which provides a showcase for faculty
and an easy-to-use system for journalists seeking expert commentary;
initiation of a UD presence on Facebook, which now has a community of 15,000
followers; and coordination of media relations surrounding UD's purchase of
the former Chrysler assembly plant, now the future science and technology
campus, with national coverage including American Public Media's
Marketplace and the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Check out some of Andrea’s other major projects.

*The weekly flagship publication of Access Intelligence LLC,
PR News
provides case studies and marketplace analysis of PR trends and programs and
offers “tip sheets, research, and articles on topics such as crisis
communications, measurement, employee communications” and how to be more
successful in a PR job.

Andrea Boyle earned a bachelor's degree in
communication and history at the University of Delaware and a master's
degree in journalism at Northwestern University. She has been with the UD
Office of Communications & Marketing since 2008. Contact Andrea at
aboyle@udel.edu.
Contact David Brond at dbrond@udel.edu.

• In 2007, editor and publisher Jamie Brown launched
The Broadkill Review: A Journal of Literature, a bi-monthly
e-publication in PDF format, that features poetry, fiction and creative
non-fiction. The Review now has branched out into book publishing,
incorporating the whole scheme under the Broadkill Publishing Associates,
LLC umbrella. Two imprints already are publishing. The Broadkill Press
publishes chapbooks of poetry and so far has published the last two winners
of the Dogfish Head Poetry Prize (with an assist from Dennis Forney,
publisher of The Cape Gazette). Full-length books of poetry are
published under the Broadkill River Press
imprint,
although a full-length collection of short fiction by noted Australian
author Maryanne Khan is in the works.

Jamie Brown is the owner of the John Milton & Co.
Bookshop in Milton, and founder/director of the town of Milton’s annual John
Milton Memorial Celebration of Poets & Poetry. For more information or to
subscribe to The Review, contact Jamie at
the_broadkill_press@earthlink.net.

• Kathryn Canavan is researching the Washington,
D.C., Penn Quarter neighborhood between the years 1847 and 1873,
particularly 8th, 9th and 10th Streets NW. She says if you happen to have
family records or letters showing anything about that neighborhood in that
period, she would appreciate a call or an e-mail.Contact Kathryn Canavan at 302-656-3272 or
canavan@comcast.net.

• Jan Churchill, a member of the Delaware Aviation
Hall of Fame and author of a number of books on aviation, both civilian and
military, has a new book out this month: First South Pole Landing: The
Pilots Story. Based on interviews Jan did with the two pilots more than
twenty-five years ago, the book tells of the first airplane to land at the
South Pole (1956). Jan says, “No man had set foot there since 1912.” A
member of the American Society of Aviation Artists, Jan attended their
Northeastern regional meeting in January and ran into Tony Velocci,
editor-in-chief of the highly regarded Aviation Week magazine. Jan
says, “Not only did he recall sitting next to me at the DPA Holiday Luncheon
when he gave the 2007 keynote address but he said he would
write a review of my new book for Aviation Week!” Jan has brought a
lifetime of experience to the books she’s published and also to the numerous
articles she written for many military organization’ publications. A
corporate pilot, Jan also has flown planes in air shows for more than 25
years and has been an air show announcer; she has participated in numerous
air races and also has owned and restored several warbirds.Order any of Jan Churchill’s books through her Web site at
janchurchill.com, or contact Jan Churchill at
janflyo2@aol.com.

• Last year James Diehl, owner of DNB Group Public
Relations, Seaford, won a first-place award in the DPA statewide
communications contest in the category “non-fiction book, history” for
World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware. Building on that success,
James wrote and co-produced Vanishing Voices of World War II, an
hour-long film that premiered at Delaware Technical & Community College,
Georgetown, November 11, 2010 – Veterans Day – and was shown again on
January 20 in “Delmarva Roots,” a film series hosted by the Rehoboth Beach
Film Society and the Milton Historical Society. The film includes some of
the interviews with veterans used in his award-winning book and another of
his works, World War II Heroes of Coastal Delaware. For more
information about the film and the “Delaware Roots” series,
read
robin brown’s “Delaware Backstory” article from the January 11 edition of
The News Journal.Contact James Diehl at
james@dnbpublicrelations.com.
Contact robin brown at
rbrown@delawareonline.com.

• Freelance writer Theresa Gawlas Medoff has a new
monthly column about family travel in the travel publication Recreation
News, a monthly tabloid distributed to 100,000 public employees in the
Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas. She also has started writing for
Delaware First Media's online news site,
www.dfmnews.org.Contact Theresa Medoff at
tgmedoff@aol.com.

• Bridget Gillespie Paverd, head of a public
relations firm specializing in the healthcare industry and auxiliary
disciplines, notes that her firm, GillespieHall, “received a Platinum Ava
Award in December for Re-Think Teens and Drink, the video we scripted
and produced on underage drinking for the STEP UP campaign for the Delaware
Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families. The movie can
be viewed on the Web site
www.ParentsStepUp.org. The production, which is targeted at parents with
teenage children, is effective because it is brutally honest.” Produced in
collaboration with the federal agency SAMHSA (Substance Abuse Mental Health
Service Administration) the video won the award over more than 1,700 other
entries from throughout the United States, Canada and several other
countries in the 2010 competition. Bridget adds: “GillespieHall also was
awarded two Platinum MarCom Awards for a campaign on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,
for our client Brandywine Counseling and Community Services.”
See one of the award-winning billboards.Contact Bridget Gillespie Paverd at
bridget@gillespiehall.com
and visit her Web site at
www.GillespieHall.com.

•
John Sadak, director for broadcasting and the lead play-by-play
announcer for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, just wrapped his third season of
broadcasting college football on TV. He says, “This year included my first
games carried by the ESPN family of networks, including ESPN GamePlan and
ESPN3.” Named Delaware’s Sportscaster of the Year for 2009 by the National
Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, he adds: “I also announced
the Division I field hockey Final Four and national championship game
between North Carolina and Maryland for the NCAA, along with the Division I
FCS football playoff game between Georgia Southern and William & Mary.” Contact John Sadak at
jsadak@bluerocks.com.

• Rachel Simon, author of Building a Home with My
Husband and Riding the Bus with My Sister, has just begun a
“pre-sale” book tour to meet with booksellers in Portland, Seattle, San
Francisco, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee and Denver for her new
novel, The Story of
Beautiful Girl, which publishes on May 4. (Rachel
sends word from Lansing, Michigan, that because of the major snow storm
blanketing a good part of the US, “The Chicago and Milwaukee legs of my trip
were cancelled, but the whole thing has been going so wonderfully that no
one thinks it will matter that we skipped a few cities.") News Journal reporter
Gary Soulsman says, in ‘Not your usual boy meets girl,’ in the January 23
edition of the Sunday News Journal, “If there's a Wilmington writer
with a shot at landing a national bestseller this spring, some bets are on
Rachel Simon for The Story of Beautiful Girl.”
Read the Soulsman article in its entirety.

The book, which was acquired by Grand Central Publishing, at
the Hachette Group, “begins in the late-1960s,” Rachel says, “and is about
Lynnie, a beautiful and artistically gifted white woman with an intellectual
disability and selective mutism, and her sweetheart, Homan, an African
American deaf man, both institutionalized. They escape with Lynnie's newborn
baby girl and find refuge at the home of a retired schoolteacher, Martha.
When the authorities catch up with them, Homan escapes, and Lynnie is
caught. But just before Lynnie is forcibly returned to The School for the
Incurable and Feebleminded, she manages to whisper to Martha: ‘Hide her.’
And so begins the forty-year epic journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and baby
Julia – four people desperate to reconnect.”

• Theresa Woodeshick, author of Buffalo Chips: A
Collection of Poems, says, “The title of my first book of poetry honors
the Buffalo, N.Y., area where I lived as a child and later returned for the
last two years of high school.” She adds, “It’s a short easy read containing
poems covering a variety of topics – from lighthearted glimpses of family
and friends to more thought-provoking discussions of good and evil – and is
written primarily in free verse, but there is also a sprinkling of haiku,
limerick and a sonnet.” Terry has been an English teacher for twenty-one
years. She has worked at Smyrna High School for the last five years and
previously taught at-risk students in the alternative PEAK program at
Delaware Technical and Community College, Terry Campus, and also worked at
St. Peter Catholic School in Old New Castle. Theresa invites you to visit
her at the meet-the-author/book-signing event for Buffalo Chips at
Borders Books in the Dover Mall on Saturday, February 12, anytime from noon
to 7 p.m. The book also is available from the publisher,
AuthorHouse, or it can be ordered through
Amazon.com.Contact Theresa Woodeshick at rwtmwood@aol.com or visit her Web site
at twoodeshick.com.

Pick your own date: Free Writes. On any given Monday,
Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, you can jump-start your creative process and
experiment with your writing styles in the company of other writers at all
skill levels. Just show up with pen and paper or laptop. No RSVP required.
Free and facilitated by the
Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild. For more info: 302-226-8210 or
contactus@rehobothbeachwritersguild.com.

Mondays

10 a.m. - Noon

Browseabout Books, Rehoboth Beach

6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Milton Public Library

Wednesdays

6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Lewes Public Library

Fridays

9 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Super G upstairs conference
room, Ocean View

Saturdays

10 a.m. – noon

Rehoboth Beach Library

Third Saturday each month

Browseabout Books, Rehoboth Beach

FEBRUARY

12 Book signing. Noon–7 p.m. DPA member Theresa
Woodeshick will sign copies of her first book of poetry, Buffalo
Chips, at Borders Books in the Dover Mall. The title of the book honors
the Buffalo, N.Y., area where the author lived as a child and later returned
for the last two years of high school. A short, easy read primarily in free
verse, the book contains poems covering a variety of topics. The book also
is available from the publisher,
AuthorHouse, or it can be ordered through
Amazon.com.

12 My Career Transition: You Are A Brand – Think Like
One in Your Job Search. 9:45–11:45 a.m. Penn State Great Valley
Campus, Malvern. Like it or not, you are a brand – even if you disagree,
don't want to be, or do nothing about it. Do you really understand what your
brand is or why a company should pick you? Stop and rethink your positioning
before inefficiently spending more of your time and other resources. Free.
Click here for
more information or to register.

12 Second Saturday Poets: Fox Chase Poets. 5–7 p.m. Diane
Sahms-Guarnieri and
G. Emil Reutter, of Philadelphia, founders of the
Fox Chase Reading Series, will read from their latest works, Images of
Being and Carvings, respectively. The open mic session will
feature poems in honor of Abe Lincoln’s 202nd birthday as well as love poems
(yours or someone else’s) to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Upstairs at
Shenanigans Irish Pub & Grill, 125 N. Market Street, Wilmington (one block
off Martin Luther King Boulevard). Second Saturday patrons may park without
charge in the Al's Sporting Goods lot directly across the street from
Shenanigans.
Get
more info about the venue, including directions and menu.

15 Deadline for the Out & About / Delaware
Literary Connection Prose Writing Contest. Theme: Turning Points.
Writers, warm up your pens, notepads and computers. Let’s see your best
1,500 words. Contest entries may be fiction or nonfiction. Winners will be
announced in the April issue of Out & About Magazine. Entries should
be sent to: Delaware Literary Connection, 237 Cayman Court, Wilmington, DE
19808. Prizes will be awarded to the winner and to first and second
runners-up. For more information or questions, contact
graybeg@comcast.net.

16 Business Wire Webinar: How to Write a Good Headline.
1–2 p.m. Speakers: Greg Jarboe, author of YouTube and Video Marketing,
and Terry Scott Bertling, features/niche products editor at the
San Antonio Express-News. Headlines always have been important for press
releases. Now, as even the most complex stories require summaries in 22
words (Google's preference) or 140 characters (for Twitter), they matter
even more. Free.
Click to Register.

16 IABC Philadelphia Webinar: Social Media Measurement.
12–1:30 p.m. Speaker: Katie Delahaye Paine (Twitter: @KDPaine), CEO and
founder of KDPaine & Partners LLC and author of Measuring Public
Relationships: The data-driven communicator’s guide to measuring success.
Review the principles of measurement and how they apply to the new, wild
world of social media. We will review how to set measureable objectives, how
to best target and measure your audiences, how to define metrics for a
dashboard, how to define a benchmark, the pros and cons of various tools,
and an overview of analysis – in other words what do you do with the data
once you have it. Members $30; Nonmembers $40.
Click to Register.

23 2011 Global Agenda series, Mirror, Mirror:
Perceptions of America Abroad, "How Others See Us." 7:30 p.m. Speaker:
Stephan Richter, founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of The
Globalist, the daily online magazine on the global economy, politics and
culture. He also is president of The Globalist Research Center. In the
1990s, he was North American adviser to the German Economics Ministry and
vice chancellor of Germany. Mitchell Hall, University of Delaware. Free – no
tickets or reservations are required. A complete schedule and details of
speaker appearances are available at the
Global Agenda
Web site.

26 IABC Philadelphia Coffee Connections. 9:30 a.m.
Chestnut Hill Coffee Co., 8620 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia. Come out and
network with fellow IABC communicators or find out more about IABC. No need
to be a member. It’s informal and fun. FREE (but you’re responsible for any
beverage or food you purchase). No RSVP necessary. E-mail
iabcphilly@gmail.com for
information. Coffee shop: 215-242-8600.

27 78th Wilmington International Exhibition of
Photography. Noon–4:30 p.m. The annual event, open to the public, is
sponsored by Delaware Photographic Society. A multi-media show will be
presented at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. both Sundays. Juried by nine acclaimed
photographers, the projected images and the 300+ prints on display were
selected from thousands of entries submitted from more than 30 countries.
Arsht Hall, 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wilmington.
Get
directions to Arsht Hall. Admission and parking are FREE. (See also
March 6.)

27 Delaware Humanities Forum Sunday Afternoon “Hard at Work” Discussion
Series: Song Yet Sung, by James McBride. Before the Civil War,
runaway slaves flee through the swamps of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, chased
by Patty Cannon’s gang of kidnappers. The Code of the Underground Railroad
tells them how to go. But fugitive Liz Spocott has strange dreams of the
future. Percussionist Kamau Ngom will perform African drum music and
talk about the African connection to blues music, country shouts and the
Underground Railroad. Three selected novels of historical fiction
examine the lives of Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries – from those
of runaway slaves before the Civil War to those of working-class people and
how they and their towns change with the rise and fall of modern industry.
Participants read the selected book and take part in a casual discussion. At
each session, actors will begin the program with a brief dramatic reading
from the featured novel, and local experts will talk about the books’
connections to Delaware business and employment. 2 p.m. Union City Grille,
Eighth and Union streets, Wilmington. Discussion and entertainment are free.
Food and drink available for purchase. For more info: 302-657-0650, toll
free 800-752-2060 or visit the Delaware Humanities Forum Web site.

06 78th Wilmington International Exhibition of
Photography. Noon–4:30 p.m. The annual event, open to the public, is
sponsored by Delaware Photographic Society. A multi-media show will be
presented at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. both Sundays. Juried by nine acclaimed
photographers, the projected images and the 300+ prints on display were
selected from thousands of entries submitted from more than 30 countries.
Arsht Hall, 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wilmington.
Get
directions to Arsht Hall. Admission and parking are FREE. (See also
February 27.)

09 Global Agenda series, Mirror, Mirror: Perceptions of America Abroad:
"Conversation with the World Bank." 3:45 p.m. Speaker: Robert B. Zoellick,
president of the World Bank. Previously, Zoellick was vice chairman,
international, of the Goldman Sachs Group. In 2005-06 he was deputy
secretary of the U.S. State Department, and from 2001-2005 he served in the
U.S. cabinet as the 13th U.S. trade representative. Please note the earlier
start time for this program: Mitchell Hall, University of
Delaware. Free – no tickets or reservations are required. A complete
schedule and details of speaker appearances are available at the
Global Agenda
Web site. (Please note different start time for this lecture.)

13–19 Sunshine Week. Although spearheaded by
journalists, Sunshine Week is about the public's right to know what its
government is doing and why. Sunshine Week seeks to enlighten and empower
people to play an active role in their government at all levels and to give
them access to information that makes their lives better and their
communities stronger. For more info:
sunshineweek.org.

20 Delaware Humanities Forum Sunday Afternoon “Hard at
Work” Discussion Series: In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike.
Between 1910 and the 1990s, four generations of the Wilmot family confront
the modern boom of factories, unions, cities and the fascinating movie
business. But small-town Delaware remains a refuge from ruthless
competition. Terry Snyder of the Hagley Library will talk about Delaware’s
early millworkers. 2 p.m. Union City Grille, Eighth and Union streets,
Wilmington. Discussion and entertainment are free. Food and drink available
for purchase. For more info: 302-657-0650, toll free 800-752-2060 or visit
the Delaware Humanities Forum Web site. (See February 27 for more info about the discussion,
entertainment and food.)

23 Global Agenda series, Mirror, Mirror: Perceptions
of America Abroad, "Global Attitudes: Changes Since 9/11." 7:30 p.m.
Speaker: Andrew Kohut, a public opinion expert with global experience.
Kohut is president of the Pew Research Center, in Washington, D.C., and
director of the Pew Global Attitudes project, which measures public opinion
about the United States around the world. Mitchell Hall, University of
Delaware. Free – no tickets or reservations are required. A complete
schedule and details of speaker appearances are available at the
Global Agenda
Web site.

31 – 4/02 Religious Communicators Council 2011
Convention, “Communicating Outside the Box!” Little Rock, Ark. Economic
pressures have reduced the number of journalists covering religion. Social
media have changed public relations. Demographic and cultural shifts have
altered the faces of our communities. How do religion communicators respond
to this dynamic cultural environment? Speakers include: Dr. Abderrahim
Foukara, Head of Operations for Al Jazeera, United States Branch; D.
Paul Monteiro, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement.
Click here for detailed conference info (fee, schedule, venue, hotel rates)
and to register.

APRIL

06 Global Agenda series, Mirror, Mirror: Perceptions of
America Abroad, "View from Africa." 7:30 p.m. Speaker: Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, a director of the World Bank who was Nigeria's finance
minister and foreign affairs minister from 2003 to 2006, the first woman to
hold either position. She has received numerous awards for her work on
economic reform in Nigeria. This program is co-sponsored by the Department
of Chemical Engineering as the Jack A. Gerster Memorial Lecture. Mitchell
Hall, University of Delaware. Free – no tickets or reservations are
required. A complete schedule and details of speaker appearances are
available at the
Global Agenda Web site.

09 American Revolution Round Table of Northern Delaware.
7:30–9:30 p.m. Speaker Sean Moir works with the Chester County
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department. He has been working on
developing interactive maps showing troop movements in the Battle of
Brandywine. His research builds on GIS technology, aided by recently
discovered old maps from England. Hale-Byrnes House. 606 Stanton-Christiana
Road, Newark. Open to the public. $5 at the door includes coffee & dessert.
Well-behaved children always welcome. For more info:
halebyrnes.org.

10 Delaware Humanities Forum Sunday Afternoon “Hard at
Work” Discussion Series: Empire Falls by Richard Russo. In this
Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the fictional river town of Empire Falls,
Maine, is dominated by the wealthy Whiting family dynasty, even after
overseas competition closes the old textile mills. Yet the local people who
gather at the diner prove resilient regardless of corporate fortunes.
Finally a credit-card bank buys up and transforms the riverfront buildings.
In real life, author Russo saw Delaware-based MBNA bank do this in Camden,
Maine. University of Delaware business history specialist Jonathan S.
Russ will talk about the evolution of modern industry. 2 p.m. Union City
Grille, Eighth and Union streets, Wilmington. Discussion and entertainment
are free. Food and drink available for purchase. For more info:
302-657-0650, toll free 800-752-2060 or visit the
Delaware Humanities Forum Web site. (See February 27 for more info about the discussion,
entertainment and food.)

18 PRSA Philadelphia PR Institute is an advanced
training program that prepares up-and-coming professionals with the tools
needed to excel in the industry and advance their careers. For six weeks,
participants attend weekly, two-hour educational sessions taught by leading
industry practitioners on topics such as strategic planning, return on
investment measurement, and presentation training. Runs through June
6.Tuition is $250 for PRSA members and $295 for non-members. Registration
deadline: Friday, March 25.
Click for
additional information or contact Renee Watson at
rcw184@gmail.com.

20 Global Agenda series, Mirror, Mirror: Perceptions of
America Abroad, "View from the Arab World." 7:30 p.m. Speaker: Marwan
Muasher, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment,
overseeing research on the Middle East. Muasher was foreign minister
(2002-2004) and deputy prime minister (2004-2005) of Jordan. His career has
spanned diplomacy, development, civil society, and communications. Mitchell
Hall, University of Delaware. Free – no tickets or reservations are
required. A complete schedule and details of speaker appearances are
available at the
Global Agenda Web site.

04 Global Agenda series, Mirror, Mirror: Perceptions of
America Abroad, "View from Europe." 7:30 p.m. Speaker: Jamie Shea,
NATO's deputy assistant secretary general for emerging security challenges,
based in Brussels. He is responsible for areas such as non-proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, cyber defense, counterterrorism and energy
security. He also oversees strategic analysis and forecasting. Mitchell
Hall, University of Delaware. Free – no tickets or reservations are
required. A complete schedule and details of speaker appearances are
available at the
Global Agenda Web site.

AUGUST

3-7 National Association of Black Journalists 2011
Convention & Career Fair, Pennsylvania Convention Center. Thousands of
the nation's foremost journalists and media professionals will gather for
the NABJ premier venue for digital journalism education, career development,
and the nation’s leaders in media, business, arts & entertainment and
technology. Professional journalists, students and educators will take part
in full- and half-day seminars designed to strengthen and enhance their
skills. Workshops throughout the five-day convention will highlight
journalism ethics, entrepreneurship, specialized journalism and
transitioning journalism skills to book publishing, screen writing and media
relations. Early Bird Registration by April 1: $325.
Click here
for additional conference information or to register.

SEPTEMBER

08–10 NFPW National Communications Conference, “Plains
Speaking,” co-hosted by Iowa Press Women and Nebraska Press Women. The
conference site will be Harrah’s Casino and Hotel, Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Several events will be held in Omaha, Nebraska. Details on registration and
pre- and post-conference tours will be available this spring.